Friday, March 4, 2011

BAFF 2011: the final countdown...

The 2011 Bigpond Adelaide Film Festival (BAFF) draws to a close this weekend, with a suitably gripping, confronting finale. Here, its key official judge, Sundance's Trevor Groth, shares his thoughts on what he's seen...

HE MAY NOT BE allowed to reveal the films that will get his
nod in tomorrow’s vote, but Trevor Groth – official judge at this year’s
Adelaide Film Festival, and Director of Programming at the Sundance Film Festival– does admit to
being blown away by the Australian contingent.

Two films, in particular, have caught his eye. And while
they’re both, ultimately, quite different, they boast a similarly powerful
effect that goes far beyond the shock factor and the gut-wrenching nature of
their subjects.

“Snowtown and Hail: these are two of the most powerful films
I’ve seen in recent years,” he says, catching his breath between sessions.
“Both gut-wrenching, both very well done. They will stir a lot of audiences in
very interesting ways.

“Snowtown, being based on such a horrific, true incident –
and fairly recent, too – it’s one thing from an outsider’s perspective, from
someone from outside the country, but it’s quite another who remembers it, who
lived through it,” he says. “The performances – from mostly non-professional
actors – were remarkable.

The film (pictured, above), directed by Justin Kurzel, relives the so-called
‘Bodies in the Barrels’ murders from the 1990s, that shocked and rocked the
nation. The film focuses on the infamous ringleader John Bunting (Daniel
Henshall) and the 16-year-old boy he befriends, Jamie (newcomer Lucas Pittaway).
Hail, while similarly gruesome in places, features a perpetrator and victim as
one and the same.

“With Hail,” Groth adds, “it’s a tour-de-force, of this man
[Daniel P Jones] who’s lived a pretty incredible life, a challenging life, and
he’s able to infuse all these experiences into art – and Amiel
[Courtin-Wilson], the director, was that perfect collaborator to work with him,
to help channel that. It’s a very powerful film – and again, both lead
performances are very, very good. It’s gripping.”

Groth is used to seeing the best of the
world’s films, having worked for Sundance for 20 years. Despite this – this
year’s event in Utah saw a record 10,000 film submissions for him and his staff
to sift through – his enthusiasm for the job is more evident than ever,
following January’s most successful Sundance yet. Part of the key to the
event’s revived fortunes: a refocused emphasis on looking forward, as the
models of filmmaking change at an ever-increasing rate.

Two films premiering at 'BAFF' (BigPond has sponsored this year's Adelaide Film Festival) – Life in Movement, Shut Up Little Man! – highlight the fact well. While the former
(pictured, above) utilises private and public footage of the late dancing star Tanja Liedtke in a
unique way, the latter documents a pre-YouTube viral phenomenon (the latter first
screening, coincidentally, at Sundance, in January.) Both are from Closer Productions– a South Australia-based outfit currently on a creative
roll.

Groth expands: “We world-premiered Shut Up Little Man! at Sundance in our International Documentary Competition – it’s a US subject made
by international filmmakers, with universal qualities to it. It couldn’t be
more relevant, given its subject matter.

“The producers of that had another film that world-premiered
here last night – Life in Movement. Which was beautiful and inspirational and
incredibly sad, at times. I think they found the life and the hope in that
tragic story [Leidtke’s life was cut tragically short back in 2007, as her star
was rising]. It’s remarkable.

“We live in an age where people are going to have more and
more access to documented lives – everyone has cameras in their phone, and
everyone’s taking pictures and documenting their lives. And this woman was an
artist and used that tool to create art. And it also serves as a way of
capturing her life.

"To see her process, of creating art through these videos and
the interviews they had with her – it’s a unique documentary. I’ve rarely seen
an artistic process captured in film like this – it’s so enlightening, so
inspirational. You see the commitment that goes into it. I was left asking
myself: ‘Man, am I doing everything I possibly can – am I giving my all in
everything I do?’ It was one of the great strengths of the film. I was very
moved by it all.”

Shut Up Little Man! has its Australian premiere tonight, Friday, at 7pm, with a repeat screening on Sunday.

Life in Movement screens again Saturday, at 3pm. Snowtown screens again Sunday, at 3pm.

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About the author

Ed Gibbs is a senior journalist and critic, broadcaster, programmer and producer, based in Sydney, Australia. As an editor, programmer and consultant, he was instrumental in relaunching leading mastheads for the Australian market, including GQ, having cut his teeth in London across key industry titles (as well as working extensively for Time Out London). He has also held a highly regarded (and often-quoted) tenure as resident critic for Fairfax Media. Now a popular mainstay on the international festival circuit, he writes and broadcasts for a wide variety of outlets, in Australia, the UK, the US and the Middle East. Among them: ABC News, BBC News, Empire Magazine (as contributing editor), Rolling Stone, SBS, The Guardian, The Independent, The Hollywood Reporter, The Sydney Morning Herald and Time Out International. A regular voice on television and radio, and an in-demand emcee and live events host, he’s also working on a number of film-related projects for TV and theatrical release. For all enquiries, email edinkgibbs@gmail.com